PATRICK QUEEN
Inside Linebacker
Very often, the outcome of these Steelers-Ravens battle royales come down to things that cannot be measured in traditional ways but are integral in determining which team walks off the field as the victor. Patrick Queen made that kind of a contribution to the Steelers in their 27-22 victory at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
With 4:29 remaining in the game and the Steelers working to protect their 5-point lead, Queen went down with an injury and limped off the field and into the medical tent on the sideline. Queen is the guy on defense wearing the green dot, which means he gets the call from the sideline; and he plays inside linebacker, a position that already had lost Malik Harrison to injury earlier in the game. That meant the only ILBs left were Payton Wilson and Cole Holcomb at a time when the Ravens running attack looked as if it was beginning to take over a game the Steelers desperately needed to win.
Queen missed just 6 plays before coming back onto the field, and on third-and-2 from the Steelers 5-yard line, Alex Highsmith dropped Derrick Henry for a 3-yard loss, and then on fourth down, Queen was the spy on Lamar Jackson when he threw incomplete to Mark Andrews for a turnover on downs at the Steelers 8-yard line.
From the 2:32 mark of the fourth quarter until Highsmith's sack of Jackson clinched the victory, Queen was credited with 3 of his 7 tackles in the game. Queen is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered were Highsmith, who had 7 tackles, including 3 for loss, that game-clinching sack, and 2 hits on the QB; Aaron Rodgers, who completed 23-of-34 (67.6 percent) for 284 yards, with 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, a rating of 103.1, and a 1-yard rushing touchdown; DK Metcalf, who was targeted 12 times and finished with 7 catches for 148 yards (21.1 average), and also stepped in as a gunner on the punt team; Brandin Echols, who had 2 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed; and Corliss Waitman, who punted 4 times for a 49.3-yard average, a 45.8-yard net average, and 1 punt inside the 20-yard line.
